Remembering Her
by Nature9000
Summary: Rouge is the last person on the planet who still believes Shadow's mind is reachable. In a desperate attempt, she thrusts herself before him in GUN's HQ, trying to get him to remember. Will he believe her, or are her attempts futile?


Remembering Her

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Sonic or Shadow the Hedgehog series. Sega does.

A/N: This was inspired by the Shadow the Hedgehog game, the very last mission of the very dark level just before the final bosses. This is where you choose for the last time, Dark, or Light. Rouge is the last aid for the hero side. Since there's a lot of Shadow/Rouge pairings, this level and that fact has inspired me to write this.

-WHO WILL HE CHOOSE-

Rouge watched in despair as the world ground shook with explosions. Shadow had been working with the Black Arms to destroy the world, she didn't understand why. He'd been so good before, had he not? She closed her eyes and sighed as she quickly dashed for the military base, the last stronghold for the humans. Shadow was there, she felt it. Maybe, just maybe she could talk to him. Maybe she could figure out why he was acting the way he was. Knuckles, poor Knuckles was in a coma now. He had been in Central City, trying to get rid of the bombs the aliens had laid, but Shadow had worked to cause them to blow up sooner. Knuckles hadn't escaped the city when it went up in smoke, but he did manage to barricade himself somewhere that would protect him from death.

Sonic was enraged, he wouldn't even listen to Amy when she tried to keep him calm. The blue hedgehog had just lost someone who was like a brother to him, and now he was out for blood. He wasn't going to stop until he got some. Who knew when his friend would awaken. As far as Amy went, she was angry with him too, but understood that he had lost his memory as well as his mind, it seemed. She lost Cream and Cheese at Eggman's castle, she didn't know if they got out okay or not. What she did know, was Shadow wouldn't help her look for them.

When Rogue arrived at the military base, she could hear the destruction, and in the midst of it all was Shadow. Maybe, just maybe she could reach out to him with her words. When all of his friends stopped believing in him, she still had hope. She heard Black Doom's voice and stopped suddenly, looking around for his location. Where that monster was, surely Shadow was to be found.

"Come Shadow," Doom said in a quiet, dark tone of voice. "This is the human's final stronghold, bring it down and defeat these pathetic humans. That way, we can rule this planet." She landed on a ledge and walked over, grasping a railing and looking down upon a room. She gasped lightly as she spotted Shadow sitting in a turret and firing upon the military soldiers.

"No," She whispered, bringing her hand to her chest. Her heart was aching, seeing Shadow causing all of this destruction. She just couldn't bear it. She then saw Doom's eye, the creepy, ugly looking thing that had been following Shadow around, glance up at her. She froze with fear and slowly backed away from the railing. Thinking fast, she turned around and charged through the doors, tears stinging her eyes at the thought of Shadow following that _thing_ around. She paused for a moment when she spotted the room she had just entered, it was a place with moving lasers and camera guns, clearly the GUN Military was keeping their eye out for Shadow. She gasped when she heard the metallic doors opening and leapt behind some crates. She poked her head out and saw Shadow walking in the room. Doom was nowhere around, he obviously left the dark hedgehog to his own devices, trusting that he would take care of the base on his own.

Shadow stopped next to the crate she was hiding behind and moved his eyes about the room. He frowned and narrowed his gaze. "Rouge, I know you're here. Where are you?" He'd seen her while on the turret. Doom spotted her too, which made him have to seriously distract the evil alien from going after her. She was the one and only person left on this planet that he felt cared about him and he cared about her. Though, with his actions, he wasn't so sure she trusted him much anymore. "I had Doom's eye go ahead and check out any possible dangerous areas. Where are you hiding?"

"Shadow, what are you doing?" Rouge hurried from her cover, knowing full well he probably would have found her if she stayed hidden. She stepped in front of him and crossed her arms, glaring into his fierce eyes. She hated looking into his eyes, because it always made her guard fall down. He didn't know just the power over her that he had with a single look. "Why have you started working with these black creatures?"

"Because, it's as Doom said…the humans destroyed me! They destroyed me but I'm back now, for revenge." Rouge's jaw fell and she quickly shook her head, chuckling with disbelief. Go figure, Shadow would honestly believe Doom. He was just using his lack of memory to get him to do whatever he wanted. "The more I find those chaos emeralds, the more I discover the truth about my past."

"Is that so?" Rouge tapped her chin and moved her gaze to the side in suspicion. If he needed the emeralds to gain his true memory, then so be it. But if what he was saying was true, why hadn't he remembered everything yet? It's like he had forgotten his adventures with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, and even, dare she even think it, he had forgotten _her_. However, she could tell in his eyes, he knew her from somewhere, he just didn't know where. She lowered her arms and stared back into his eyes. He gasped and quickly looked away, not wishing to see the emotion in her gaze. "You know me. I know you do."

"No, I don't…" Dare he admit, the feeling he felt for her when he saw her _was_ pure care. He still liked her, but he didn't know why. There was hardly anything about her in his past, but whatever it was that was there, was the thing that made him strive to keep Doom away from her and Rouge out of harm's way. "…Rouge, I need to continue on with my mission."

"No you don't!" Rouge hurried over to Shadow and grasped his arm. He growled and looked over at her, grunting when his eyes locked into her desperate gaze. She was pleading with him, knowing well that he was walking right into a trap where Sonic and the Commander were waiting for him. She did not want to lose him. She regretted every day not telling him how she felt, ever since the horrible incident occurred that caused his mind to be erased, she regretted everything. "We can find the last emerald! It has to be somewhere. Maybe it'll restore your full memory! Maybe…"

"Let go of me." He pulled his arm from her grasp and continued to walk onward, stopping only to glare at the lasers that blocked his way. Rouge smirked and crossed her arms, she wasn't going to leave his side.

"Okay, but I'm following you." Shadow's eyes widened, then narrowed as he growled and swiftly turned towards her.

"No you won't! It's too dangerous!"

"Please. I live for danger." Rouge slowly walked by Shadow and ran her hand along his jaw, sending shivers down his spine. "Besides, I'm the one who knows the way out of here. I can help you, but you need to do something for me first…"

"What's that?"

"Help me find the emerald." Shadow rolled his eyes and stared at the path before him. He had no choice in the matter.

"Fine." Rouge smiled and clasped her hands together happily, she loved being able to reason with him.

"Great! Now grab that hoop. There's security cameras along the way, they'll shoot you if they see you."

"…" Shadow looked above him and quickly grabbed the hoop he saw. He sighed as it lifted him up above the lasers. Quickly, he jumped over them and ran behind the crates, Rouge following close behind. "I still don't want you following me."

"I don't really care."

"Great…" Soon they were well on their way through the area, heading into the deeper part of the base. Any time he tried to shoot one of GUN's soldiers, Rouge chided him. Having her by his side, though, was giving him strange feelings that he couldn't understand. Although, he was starting to remember certain things about his past that he hadn't thought of. He could recall the adventures that he had, he remembered how he and Sonic had saved the world countless times. But still, Rouge was a slightly vague part of his memory. Who was she exactly, and what had she meant to him?

"We're almost there, Shadow! The emerald isn't far from here!" Shadow sighed and glanced over at the side. He knew he was passing some important doors that led him to where Doom wanted him to go, but something just kept telling him to stick with Rouge. Thinking fast, he halted himself to a stop and called out to her. She stopped a few feet ahead and turned around, raising her eyebrow. "Why did you stop?"

"I helped Sonic the hedgehog save this planet before?"

"Uh huh, countless times actually." A smile started to come to her lips, he was starting to remember. This was great news! Shadow looked down at his hands in front of him. "Everyone on Earth is grateful for you two, the president's surprised even that you're with these creatures."

"The president?" The humans, grateful? How? "Doom said…"

"Yeah, apparently the guy says a lot of things." She placed her hands on her hips and walked over to Shadow, then began to poke him in the head, annoying the crap out of him. "You should know, it's the same thing all the bad guy's we've ever faced do…they manipulate their pawns into doing _whatever _they want. Doom doesn't care about you, not…" She took one step back as Shadow looked up at her. She frowned when she searched his eyes for some sort of recognition, he still didn't know who she was. "Not like I do…"

"What?"

"Nevermind…" She turned around and closed her eyes, fighting the tear threatening to fall. "We need to go…if you're remembering things, I need to tell Sonic before he…" Shadow raised his eyebrow, but Rouge did not speak a word.

"What's Sonic doing?"

"He's very pissed off with you, Shadow. You blew up central city and put Knuckles in a coma. If he hadn't thought fast, he would have _died_ in that blast!" Shadow's eyes widened with surprise, he nearly the poor guy. How could that be? He'd always been too awesome to even come _close_ to dying. "He's waiting with the Commander. If you keep destroying HQ, they're going to kill you."

"But I…I'm just doing what I was told…"

"And that's another thing!" She turned fiercely toward Shadow, glaring angrily at him. He felt a sharp pain shoot through his body, he remembered that he hated when she was angry with him. "The Shadow _I_ knew would _never_ just listen to anybody without thinking it over. The Shadow I knew always did things his _own_ way. So am I wrong? Am I wrong to keep believing in you?"

"Y-You believe in me?" Just then a dark figure appeared behind Shadow. Rouge's eyes widened and she took a fearful step back. Shadow quickly turned around and gasped in shock as Doom himself stood over him.

"What are you doing, Shadow?" Doom asked with animosity burning his tongue. His dark eyes drifted over to Rouge and hatred shot through him. She was the _last_ person that he wanted Sonic running into. That could compromise _everything_. She could cause him to regain every last bit of his memory. "I see…"

"No!" Shadow quickly stepped in front of her, holding his arms out and glaring at Doom. He knew the moment Doom saw her that the evil creature would try and kill her. "I won't let you hurt her!"

"Think about who you are, Shadow. You are the ones the humans despised, the ones they destroyed."

"…" Shadow frowned and glanced to the ground for a split second, trying to remember all of this. All he could think of though, was the cheers the planet had as he and Sonic raced to battle all the wrong in the world. He remembered how Knuckles always seemed to one up Sonic at everything, but the two were still like brothers nonetheless. Now, Knuckles was lying in a bed somewhere and wouldn't wake up until God knew when, and it was all _his_ fault. "Who I am…" He clenched his fists angrily and growled sharply, it wasn't his fault that Knuckles almost died, it was _Doom_. Doom lied to him! "I am not! Who I am is…"

"Too much talk, Shadow. I do not care. I will give you a chance to destroy this base, but I won't allow this filth to be with you."

"What?" In an instant, Doom breezed past Shadow and grabbed Rouge's arm, flying off in the distance with her. Shadow turned and reached out for her as she called out to him. "Rouge! No!"

"Now go and do as you are told!" Shadow clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, feeling a pounding sensation in his head. Seeing Rouge dragged off like that, it made his blood boil. Who was she? He was remembering now, remembering almost everything. Rouge was his best friend, his companion, they were almost always with each other, and he liked her.

He loved her, but he never told her. In truth, she was the first person he met. Eggman's grandfather had sent him several years into the future after Maria's death. Rouge was the one who found him sprawled on the ground and took him home to nurse him to health. Amy had brought Sonic over to Rouge's house and that's where Shadow met Sonic. That's where their adventures begun. Then Doom started coming back, sampling every bit of Earth, wanting to destroy it. He found Shadow at Rouge's mansion, everybody was there that day. "It was a party," Shadow whispered as the vivid memory came to his head. "It was the day I was going to tell her how I felt…" He clenched his fists tighter, causing blood to appear. "Sonic convinced me to…and then _he_ appeared."

Doom practically blew the entire roof off once he found Shadow, and there he hit him with a very powerful blast that practically eradicated every memory from his brain. The next thing he knew, he awakened to everyone surrounding him, panicked, and ran off.

"I remember now. I remember who I am…" Shadow let out a powerful shout and quickly took off after Doom. He wasn't letting the alien have his way this round. "Doom! I'm coming for you! Come and fight me, you coward!" A nearby Mech started firing upon him, but he simply grabbed the gun and continued racing off. "I need this more than you do." It was a Gatling Gun, _very_ powerful and very strong. Soon he entered the room where the emerald Rouge had been searching for was. Thinking quickly, he grabbed it and pocketed it. "I have to keep this safe…"

Soon, he felt the environment shifting and quickly looked around, finding himself in a strange room with boxes and platforms everywhere. In the center, Doom stood with Rouge in his arms. Shadow growled and prepared himself for a fight. "I knew I would find you, asshole. Now give me Rouge or prepare to die, you filthy son of a bitch."

"I tried to disguise the room, but you sniffed me out," Doom muttered as his eyes narrowed. "I can't say I am at all surprised." Shadow growled menacingly and took another step toward Doom. He didn't care for talk, he just wanted to act out.

"Maybe you didn't hear me." Doom raised his eyebrows as Shadow took another step. Rouge moaned and slowly opened her eyes, she had fainted briefly. She looked over and spotted Shadow. She was surprised to see the look in his eyes. Determination. "I said Give…her…_back._" He aimed the gun towards Doom and quickly fired off a round, hitting the alien in the head. Doom shouted out in pain as he tossed Rouge in the air and fell back. "Rouge!" Shadow quickly dashed into the air and grabbed her, then landed safely behind a stack of crates.

"You're going to pay for this treachery!" Rouge slowly stood up, slightly shaken. She patted herself off and curiously investigated Shadow's eyes.

"Shadow, you came for me?" Rouge asked with surprise. She honestly wasn't sure that he would have done a thing. "You don't even remember me…"

"You're wrong. I do." Rouge's eyebrows lifted as something hit the front of the crates with explosive force. Shadow ignored it for the time being and took Rouge's hand. "You're my best friend, you found me and helped me…and moreover, I…" Suddenly a meteor crashed next to Shadow. Shadow roared angrily and jumped up to the crates and fired the gun at Doom. "I am going to kill you, asshole!" Rouge blinked and leapt up next to Shadow, she wanted to be a part of this, but wasn't entirely sure how she could help him out.

"Get him weakened and I can attack him." Shadow nodded his head as the two ran closer towards Doom. They weren't sure how many times they'd have to hit the alien before he died, but they were not going to give up. "So are you really ready to do this, Shadow?"

"What?" They leapt on top of a platform and Shadow quickly shot off a round of bullets towards at Doom again, wounding him severely. "I'm protecting the planet. I need to atone for my crimes, but…do you think they'll ever forgive me?"

"Who, Sonic? Yeah, I think if he knows what side you're really for and sees everything that happened, he'll be fine. Knuckles too, even." Shadow smiled briefly but was caught off guard and hit by one of Doom's attacks. "Shadow!" Rouge growled angrily and leapt toward Doom, kicking and punching him in the face several times.

"Ack, get off me!" Doom shouted out. He quickly vanished and Rouge leapt next to Shadow, watching him jump up on his own as though he didn't get hit by anything at all. She sighed and glanced over as Doom appeared elsewhere.

"Shadow are you okay? He doesn't look happy."

"Yeah I'm fine," Shadow replied. He looked at his gun and frowned, he was out of bullets. "I just need to find another weapon somewhere…" Rouge blinked and looked over to a bunch of crates in the corner.

"I think I saw one over there!" She dashed over while Shadow continued to dodge some of Doom's meteor attacks. Shadow quickly leapt up and attacked Doom with a series of punches and kicks.

"You've become stronger I see," Doom said as he hovered backwards and glared venomously towards Shadow. Shadow wiped his mouth and narrowed his eyes. "You'll pay for your insolence."

"Shadow, I got the gun!" Rouge tossed the gun towards Shadow and he grabbed it in midair.

"Shut the hell up, Doom," Shadow replied while firing off another round of bullets. Doom screamed out in pain as Rouge attacked him from behind, delivering off a series of hits.

"Here's a little souvenir. I brought these along with me!" Rouge pulled a bunch of small orbs from her belt and tossed them onto Doom. He screamed out as the items blew up on him. "A bunch of tiny bombs. That'll teach you to put your hands on me!" Doom fell to his hands and knees, coughing up blood. Shadow quickly appeared above him and pointed his gun towards Doom's head.

"It's over, Doom. With you, all those disgusting creatures will be gone. I'll see to it personally that they are cleaned off from this planet!" Shadow shouted out, clenching his free hand into a fist. He narrowed his eyes as Doom's head fell to the floor and a moan escaped his lips, he acknowledged his defeat. "Do you want to know who I am? I am Shadow the Hedgehog, and I don't follow anyone's orders. I am in love with Rouge and close friends with Sonic the Hedgehog. I was created fifty years ago and sent here in time by my creator." Rouge was blushing furiously now, realizing what Shadow had just said without actually taking notice. Since when did he feel the same for her? "I am the protector of mankind, destined to eradicate from this planet, people and demons like _you_."

"Curse you, Shadow," Doom muttered out. Shadow slammed his foot on the alien's head and fired a round of shots into the back of the demon's head. Doom screamed and breathed out his final breath. With that, Shadow quickly jumped off from him and stepped in front of Rouge.

"So you remember," Rouge said with a slight smile. Shadow, now realizing that he'd just confessed his feelings out loud, started rubbing the back of his head and blushing. Rouge smiled at the emotion and quickly kissed his cheek. "I love you too, Shadow. I'm really happy that you have your memory back."

"It must have been hard on you…"

"It was hard on everyone." She quickly hugged Shadow and felt him slip his arms around her waist. He looked into her eyes and smiled at her.

"I promise I'll never let anything like this happen again." For the longest time before losing his memory, he'd felt like kissing her. He couldn't stand it. Now he was holding her in his arms _and_ just saved the entire world from a crazed alien from outer space. "So, is it all right if I kiss you?"

"Are _you_ really asking for permission?" Shadow chuckled and closed his eyes, she had a point there. He never asked for permission to do something.

"You're right." Rouge's eyes widened as Shadow quickly kissed her passionately on the lips. She moaned into the kiss and her eyes fluttered shut. It was a dream come true, a moment she'd always wanted, and it was honestly, finally happening. What could honestly go wrong? Nothing could tear down this feeling, except for one thing.

"Bravo, bravo, nice work Shadow!" A voice called out, clapping excitedly. Rouge's eyes shot open as Shadow pulled back from the kiss. That was the one thing that could have gone wrong. She turned around and glared at Sonic, she would have to pummel him later. "Wow! I was wondering when that'd happen!"

"You didn't see anything," Shadow threatened with narrow eyes. Sonic laughed and walked toward Shadow, patting his shoulder.

"Wrong. I saw everything," Sonic replied while nodding his head.

"What?"

"Well, the Commander and I saw you run by the main room. I followed you to see what was going on…" He had been surprised to see Shadow really against Doom. The fight seemed to take a lot out, but it helped for Sonic to see what was really going down. "So, Doom basically had you brainwashed?"

"Yeah…So, you don't want to kill me anymore?"

"Actually, I think cleaning up the mess of aliens and destruction should be plenty of punishment for you. You get the bulk of the load, but I think things will be normal once things are finished." Shadow nodded and gave a sigh. If this was how he must atone for his crimes, then so be it. Rouge smiled and took his hand, causing him to blush once more. "Knuckles is going to be okay, we think he's going to wake up pretty soon. He hasn't regained consciousness, but his fingers started moving at one point of time."

"That's good…I hope he will be able to forgive me. I don't know what I was thinking, working against everybody."

"All's forgiven now," Rouge reminded Shadow. She kissed his cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're back."

"So am I." Sonic rolled his eyes and turned around.

"Well, I see this as one of two ways," Sonic said as he crossed his arms. Shadow raised his eyebrow and tilted his head as the blue hedgehog kicked the ground. "You two can either stand here in front of the dead alien, acting all mushy and stuff while I get the hell away from you two, or you can accept my challenge…"

"What challenge?"

"This. Race you home!" Sonic quickly took off. Shadow's eyes widened and his jaw fell. Rouge chuckled and slowly shook her head, she knew Shadow couldn't turn down a challenge like that.

"Go beat him, Shadow," She said quietly. "I'll meet you at home." Shadow nodded and quickly raced off. Rouge smiled as she cupped her chest with her hands, her heart seemed to be having a race of its own, beating a mile a minute. Her Shadow was back, and that was just the way she liked it. She knew she was right not to give up on him.

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm not much into the fandom of Sonic just yet, obviously, but the writer in me just couldn't turn down this idea. I know some things probably aren't how the game went, but I wasn't trying to make it go 100% with the game, it just wouldn't work right if I did. Besides, that's the thing about fiction...anyway, again I hope you liked it. Tell me what you thought in a review!

Another thing, I don't usually do this but I was wondering...Anybody who's good on youtube, if you could make a video like a trailer/teaser almost about this or even summary of this, that'd be great! I'd love to see what anyone could come up with!


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